Hannah Is My Name Book

Summary:
This realistic fiction book is appropriate for 2-5 grade levels. For ELs, teachers should also consider the English level of the students when using this book.

This book shares not only Taiwanese immigrant experiences, but also touches on how the lack of documentation has serious consequences for immigrant families. The book gives a vivid emotional journey of the life-changing experience of successfully obtaining documentation. It also shows the economic constraints that families experience because of their immigration status.

Ideas:
In the classroom, I can use this book along with an extension project on the topic of immigration. For example, depending on the English level of my students, I can have students make collages of their immigration experiences or write a mini-book that is similar to this one.

I can also use this book to be a discussion starter on the topic of immigration and documentation for higher level students. The teacher will introduce the book and what it's about. There will be a class read aloud of the entire book. Then students will be in small groups where they are assigned on different parts of the book and they summarize the content of the book. Next, we will come back as a group and discuss the various parts by completing a timeline. We will review the timeline and the key parts.

Once students are familiar with the content of the book, we will go back to small groups. The teacher will give each group discussion questions and students will complete them. Last, we will come back as a class to discuss important issues on immigration.

Why WOW?
This book was a WOW book because it's rare to find a children's immigration book that also addresses the serious and difficult experience of waiting for documentation. It debunks many theories that it's easy for immigrants to obtain documentation or that it's easy to live without documentation. Many children in these situations may find it hard to process such a complex emotional journey. But this book offers a real experience that is helpful for students to talk about difficult documentation experiences.